Passport Capital Hires Leading Mortgage Specialist

SAN FRANCISCO, April 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Passport Capital, a global alternative investment company, today announced that it has recently hired Jeffrey (Jeff) W. Kong as a portfolio manager. Mr. Kong is responsible for managing the firm's mortgage-backed and related fixed income strategy.  

Mr. Kong joins Passport from Structured Portfolio Management where he was Senior Managing Director and Partner and spent ten years serving as Portfolio Manager of the firm's leading $1 billion flagship mortgage strategy.  His responsibilities encompassed all portfolio management functions including asset selection, risk management and hedging.  

"We are very excited to welcome Jeff to our team," said John Burbank, Chief Investment Officer of Passport Capital.  "No one is better versed in the evaluation and trading of mortgage-backed securities than Jeff.  He is a strategic complement to our investment team and will be invaluable as we seek to provide the most comprehensive solutions possible to our investors."

"I am delighted to be joining Passport at this exciting point in the company's development," said Mr. Kong. "Passport's highly experienced and global investment team, coupled with its diversified range of strategies, offers a truly unique solution that sophisticated, institutional investors demand."

Mr. Kong has nearly 25 years of experience trading and evaluating mortgage securities.  Before his tenure at Structured Portfolio Management, Mr. Kong was a director and senior mortgage-backed securities trader at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.  Previously, he served as a vice president at Greenwich Capital Markets in mortgage-backed securities research and trading.  Mr. Kong received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Florida.

About Passport Capital

Passport Capital LLC is a San Francisco-based, global investment firm founded by John H. Burbank III in 2000. The firm manages approximately $4.4 billion in assets.  Passport's investment process uses a combination of macroeconomic analyses to develop major themes and rigorous fundamental research on individual companies to create global portfolios.  The firm's investment team focuses on the following areas: Agriculture, Basic Materials, Consumer, Energy, Financial Services, Healthcare, India & Capital Markets, Internet / Technology, Middle East & North Africa and Mortgage-backed securities.

SOURCE Passport Capital